ENMU President will not seek Contract Extension
Eastern New Mexico University System Chancellor Dr. Jeff. Elwell will step down June 2021
Portales, N.M. – Eastern New Mexico University System Chancellor and ENMU-Portales President Dr. Jeff Elwell notified the Eastern New Mexico University Board of Regents on March 13, 2020 of his plans to end his service as chancellor and president effective June 30, 2021. He made the announcement at the ENMU Board of Regents meeting at ENMU-Ruidoso.
President of the ENMU Board of Regents Terry Othick said, “The Board of Regents would like to thank Dr. Elwell for his service to Eastern New Mexico University. We appreciate the energy and enthusiasm he brought to the University and wish him the very best of luck as he prepares to meet new challenges and opportunities.”
Elwell said, “We have enjoyed our time at ENMU working with faculty, staff, students and the community. I hope the work Edwina and I have done in Portales has helped to continue the growth of ENMU.
I am proud of the many accomplishments and want to thank the current and past board members for their support as we continue to present ENMU as the premier education destination in New Mexico. I wanted to give early notice so the board, the campus and the community could decide what they would like in their next leader.”
Elwell has achieved much over his term as ENMU president. From a legislative standpoint, he lead ENMU’s efforts with the New Mexico Legislature and has brought much-needed support to the University.
According to Elwell, one of his goals as a part of the ENMU leadership team was to unite all three campus branches. He accomplished this through his “One Eastern” plan as well as leading the search for, and eventual hiring of, two collaborative presidents for ENMU-Roswell and ENMU-Ruidoso.
As chancellor and president, Elwell maintained his focus on the number one mission of ENMU – the success of students. This is indicated by his efforts in establishing the Greyhound Promise Scholarship to provide free tuition for students who are interested in becoming New Mexico’s next generation of educators.
Elwell’s wife, First Lady of Eastern Edwina Gower, has been active in both the University and local communities, helping the youth of Roosevelt and De Baca counties in bringing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to the region. The Imagination Library initiative provides free books to young children through age 5 to encourage a lifelong love of reading. The program has been successful thus far, as more than 340 children have signed up to participate in the first month alone.
Elwell is yet to decide if he will retire, assume his full-time tenure professorship at ENMU in the Department of Theatre and Digital Filmmaking, or seek other leadership opportunities inside or outside of academia.
The ENMU Board of Regents will immediately begin working with Dr. Elwell on a transition plan to ensure the University will continue to operate in the orderly, efficient and effective manner our students, faculty, staff and community members have come to expect.
